Jack Draper shares how his body is holding up after coming through another gruelling five-set match at the Australian Open.
The British number one was taken right to the wire by Aleksandar Vukic, who was trying to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time in his career.
The 28-year-old played some inspired tennis in front of his home fans on Margaret Court Arena, who cheered him on until the very end.
But Jack Draper held firm and proceeded to defeat an Australian for the second successive match to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the first time.
Jack Draper offers update on his fitness after another gruelling Australian Open match
For the third match in a row Draper was taken to five sets at the Australian Open.
He dug deep to turn the tables on Vukic, who opened up a two sets to one lead and he was playing some truly magnificent shots throughout the contest.
But the 15th seed came up with some clutch plays in the third and fourth set tiebreaks to claim a 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(10-8) win in three hours and 58 minutes.
He has claimed wins over Mariano Navone, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Vukic all in five sets at the Australian Open, and this is made all the more remarkable given he went into the tournament with concerns around a hip injury, which forced Draper to miss the United Cup.
However, his body held up well over the course of his first three matches, even if he was not feeling his best after outlasting Vukic.
“My body doesn’t feel too great. Luckily I have a good physio!,” Draper told Jim Courier in his post-match interview.
“But mentally I have competed hard. I have loved the atmosphere playing in front of so many people and it has given me a lot of energy to keep pushing and I am surprising myself.”
Who does Jack Draper play next?
Draper is into the fourth round of the Australian Open where he will face the World number three, Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard is on a mission to become the youngest man to win all four Grand Slams and is desperate to triumph in Melbourne.
The 21-year-old has won two of their meetings, but Draper won their last encounter at Queen’s 6-7(3) 3-6.
With a huge challenge ahead, Draper is ensuring he recovers from his marathon match against Vukic before thinking about facing Alcaraz.
“I am just thinking about my recovery and getting off the court! I don’t want to think about him yet,” Draper said. “Carlos is a special talent. An unbelievable player.
“He is someone I have a good friendship with so I think it is going to be an incredible match and hopefully my body pulls up and it can be a good contest.”
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